Manchester United Opinion: Why United should avoid signing Ben Godfrey?
According to a report from The Sun, Manchester United are interested in Norwich City star Ben Godfrey, who has been recommended by former Red Devils defender Rio Ferdinand.
Ben Godfrey, 21, helped Norwich to the Championship title this season and is believed to be settled at Carrow Road and looking forward to life in the Premier League with Daniel Farke’s side.
The report goes on to add that Norwich would want about £15million for the versatile 21-year-old defender, although that is cheap given the current market for young centre-backs.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking for reinforcements this summer as he plans a complete revamp of his side that failed to achieve a top-four spot this season. Seeing how the defenders struggled in the 2018/19 season, the 46-year-old is keen to revamp his backline.
Victor Lindelof was the only bright spark as far as the Reds’ central defenders are concerned. The Swede struggled in his debut season at Old Trafford but improved leaps and bounds this term. In fact, he produced his best form under Solskjaer and appears to have nailed down his place in the team for 2019/20.
But Lindelof needs a reliable, composed player besides him to give United a sturdy look at the back. Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo are nowhere near the quality expected at such a big club, while Eric Bailly has quality but is injury-prone. Thus, the central defence is one of the key areas that the United manager must improve, by hook or crook.
Solskjaer wants to rebuild the United squad with young, dynamic and hungrier talents, moving away from the big-money signings that the club have adopted Post-Sir Alex Ferguson. But if there’s one position the Norwegian must persuade the United board to break the bank for an experienced, world-class talent, it’s the defence.
That should keep United away from Ben Godfrey, despite the 21-year-old being one of the pillars of Norwich’s Championship title triumph. Prior to playing a key role in the Canaries’ success, he excelled last season on loan at Shrewsbury. The versatile defender has already proven he can adjust to the step up after enjoying two successive solid seasons at different levels of English football.
But at United the pressure will be different and any player that comes in through the front door this summer must make an instant impact. Even though Godfrey has shown real maturity and ability to cope up with pressure situations, he clearly isn’t ready to be a part of Solskjaer’s side.
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Most importantly, it’s difficult to see Norwich boss Daniel Farke sanctioning the young defender’s sale, the player that had such a crucial role in the team’s promotion to the top-flight.
Verdict
Solskjaer has shown he is willing to trust the youngsters and give them plenty of chances to make an impact. But as far as United’s defence is concerned, he should target experienced, topnotch players that can come in and make a stellar impact, someone like Virgil van Dijk.
In that aspect, the Red Devils must avoid signing Godfrey this summer.
